But Berau, an integral slice of the Sulu-Sulawesi seascape within the legendary Coral Triangle, holds a special crown, it is the heart of Southeast Asia’s richest marine biodiversity and the most critical habitat for the region's green turtles.
These are green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), and they are thriving in one of the most vital marine sanctuaries on Earth.
To safeguard these pristine habitats and track turtle populations, a coalition of government agencies and environmental groups regularly deploys coordinated, tech-driven field surveys across the region.
Historically, monitoring vast, remote coastlines meant grueling, often inaccurate foot patrols and boat surveys. Today, conservationists are taking to the skies.
A collaborative task force - uniting the Nusantara Nature Conservation Foundation (YKAN), the East Kalimantan Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Agency, and the Pontianak Coastal and Marine Resources Management Center - recently deployed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to map the region's hardest-to-reach nesting grounds.
Supported by the Solutions for Marine and Coastal Resilience Program, the initiative blends science with modern engineering.
Green locations mapped
The results of the latest survey offer significant hope for the future sustainability of the region's marine ecosystems.
Operating at resolutions between 1.5 and 5 centimeters, researchers can effortlessly differentiate between coral, rocks and individual turtle carapaces.
The team successfully mapped turtle habitats across 12 distinct locations within the Derawan Islands Marine Conservation Area (KKP3K - KDPS).
Analysts identified at least 913 sea turtles actively living, feeding and breeding in these protected waters.
Beyond counting shells, the survey analyzed 27 vital nesting sites, stretching from the famed Sangalaki Island to the remote shores of Sulaiman Bay.
26 out of those 27 locations were categorized as ‘green’, meaning they remain pristine, healthy and structurally perfect for female turtles to lay their eggs.
The research team found these beaches have the ideal characteristics, citing perfect sand textures for egg incubation, gentle slopes, natural shade-giving vegetation and a crucial lack of human disruptive activity.
Shifting mindset
While drones provide the data, long-term survival requires a shift in human behavior. For decades, poaching and egg harvesting threatened to wipe out Berau's populations. Today, a profound cultural shift is underway.
Head of the East Kalimantan Provincial Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office, Irhan Hukmaidy, emphasized that true conservation is a generational investment rooted in education and character building.
"Protecting turtles is not only about creating strict regulations or deploying supervisors in the field," Hukmaidy stated.
"Far more important is instilling a deep understanding in the younger generation regarding the value of these animals and their vital role in maintaining the balance of our oceans,” he added.
The children living along these coasts today will tomorrow become the frontline guardians of its biodiversity. Recognizing this, conservationists are expanding routine environmental outreach across coastal classrooms, transforming how the next generation views its relationship with the sea.
This forward-looking approach has found fierce advocates among local residents, including Arifin, the Village Secretary of Balikukup.
He views early environmental literacy not as an academic luxury, but as an existential necessity for a community whose survival is entirely intertwined with the ocean.
Through targeted programs led by YKAN and local authorities, village children are learning that the local beaches and sea turtles are far more than just a scenic backdrop - they are vital components of a delicate lifecycle that sustains their home.
"Balikukup is a piece of this marine ecosystem, and it must be protected and preserved together," Arifin said.
"We hope that through this continuous education, a generation will emerge with the high awareness needed to sustain their village's natural resources for the future,” he continued.
The success of these long-term outreach efforts is explicitly reflected in recent perception surveys.
Interviews with 75 local fishermen across Balikukup, Derawan, Maratua, Teluk Sulaiman and Biduk-Biduk revealed remarkably high public awareness, 98 percent stated that catching sea turtles or poaching their eggs is illegal and destructive.
Furthermore, most respondents reported frequent, year-round encounters with green and hawksbill turtles, noting that local populations are steadily rising compared to previous years.
Local communities credit this ecological rebound directly to stricter law enforcement, tighter surveillance and sustained conservation funding.
It is a formula that bridges high-tech innovation with grassroots action - a strategy that Yusuf Fajariyanto, Senior Manager of Marine Protection at YKAN, identifies as the project's twin pillars of success.
Conservation cannot be achieved in a vacuum by government bodies or NGOs alone, he noted, emphasizing that because coastal communities interact with these habitats daily, their cooperation serves as the frontline defense.
Simultaneously, the deployment of advanced UAV technology has revolutionized fieldwork, providing research teams with rapid, highly accurate data.
The confirmed presence of more than 913 sea turtles stands as definitive proof that Berau remains a world-class sanctuary.
As this region sits directly on a major migratory highway for various critical marine species, the preservation efforts engineered here do more than protect local waters - they safeguard the ecological health of the global marine ecosystem.
Related news: East Kalimantan boosts cross-sector turtle protection
Related news: Exploring Sulaiman Bay's mangrove wildlife haven
Editor: Primayanti
Copyright © ANTARA 2026
